I'm one of those lucky few who really enjoys what I do and get paid to do it. Not only do I write fulltime to pay the bills but I get to do freelance articles about almost anything. As well, at my day job, I work with some pretty amazing people who are kind and generous to boot.
As it's Canada Day, my contribution to festivities was a concoction that reminded me of a trip I took to Brittany some time ago where I was introduced to Calvados (or 'eau de vie de cidre' as it's called there), a very dry cider spirit that can leave you breathless! Anyway, I soaked a couple of punnets of strawberries in Calvados and served this up with unsweetened whipped cream. Fortunately, I made enough as guests kept coming back for more.
It's easy to make. Wash and then cut up about a litre of strawberries (make sure they are the sweetest you can find), place in a sealable container, then add two tablespoons of Calvados, and two tablespoons of icing sugar. Mix well, replace the lid, and keep in the fridge overnight. Yummers!
I live in the most beautiful country in the world--too bad we're destroying it! So what's to celebrate? Lots if you think about it--cheap food, access to medical care, good education. What can we do to stop trashing this place? Buy only grown-in-Canada produce. Ontario peach farmers are in trouble as the last peach canning factory in Ontario has closed. Now we will only be able to get peaches from South America or China. Cheap food, yes, but at what cost to ourselves?
Buy less, make do with what we have. It drives me crazy to see all those ads pushing 'green' stuff at us. Let's use up what we already have and then make sure when we toss something, it's recycled in a viable, non-polluting way. Reduce waste, etc., etc. Don't dispair--small actions can have big consequences. Small and steady can get the job done.
If you can, push to work at home. Neighbourhood schools are closing up and being turned into expensive condos--why not convert these into satellite offices for those who need to be out of the house to do their jobs but still within walking distance of home.
Enough of my ranting. I spent Saturday at our local farmers' market and came home with lots of fresh produce. In my Mom's time, surplus food was canned so you could have fruit and veggies all year long from your preserve cupboard. I'm too disorganized to do anything like that; I'd probably burn the place down, but I can freeze stuff. So that's what I've done.
Fruit like strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries can be frozen on a tray then placed in containers. You'll need to wash the berries first but make sure that you dry them really well before freezing. That way the berries won't stick to each other and you can have as many or as few as you like on your breakfast oatmeal on a cold winter's day. Veggies like green beans, carrots, corn, and brussels sprouts can be blanched in hot water for a few minutes, cooled and frozen the same way as the berries. Easy-peasy and yummy, too. Think of the money you will save and the farmers who you've helped.
Ciao!
I'm a big fan of hanging washing outside to dry. Did you know that bright sunlight will actually kill any bacteria that the washing machine missed? In olden days, clothes lines did not exist, so washed linens were draped on top of lavender bushes to dry and absorbed some of the scent and, since then, lavender has been a favourite for keeping linens sweet smelling.
For fun, I've created what I think is a wonderful laundry accessory - scented clothes pegs (or pins)! I'll be handing these out to my friends who are using clothes lines instead of the energy-gobbling dryers. As a container for the pegs, I used old glass canning jars that I have collected for years and tied it all up with a pretty gingham ribbon.
To make your own scented clothes pegs/pins, place the pegs into a glass container and sprinkle a few drops of your favourite essential oils (I used lavender, natch!). Make sure that the lid is on tight to keep the scent and you're in business. Makes a really thoughtful eco-gift, no?
My clothes peg project isn't really suitable for my Etsy shop because the jars are so heavy and postage would be enormous, but I have posted a few more items this week. Visit my Etsy shop at www.recycleeh.etsy.com to see what I'm flogging these days.
Of course, my favourites are my neat wristwatches turned into bracelets or lockets.
Nice way to recycle a non-working 1930s vintage wristwatch, I think. Here are another two that I recycled and am selling in my Etsy shop.
One of the watches had no wristband so I turned it into a locket. You can do the same.
